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Friday, August 1, 2014

This Dress Needs Love

In my early days of collecting I would often buy pieces that had some serious flaws. I did this partially because I just wanted vintage - any vintage - in my closet and buying less than perfect vintage fit my university student budget much better.
These days I rarely buy vintage that is severely damaged. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to minor flaws, that's just part of the deal with clothes as old as I like them, but I NEVER buy things that have serious flaws.

Today I made an exception for an exceptional dress I believe I needed to rescue.

I know what you're about to say. That this dress looks fine. And from the front it does. However, the back of this dress is ripped. The bodice buttons up in the back (It's missing one button) and the entire skirt is ripped. So you can put this poor dress on like an apron at the moment. I'm not showing you the back because I'm not really keen on showing my underwear to the internet, so you'll have to use your imagination.

I believe I can repair this dress. I bought it for a song at Vintage Glory today. It spoke to me. It's not my usual 50's style, but I love it. I'm going to try and sew the split in the back shut. I'm hoping the pattern is busy enough it will distract from the seam. Failing that I will make this into a peplum blouse.

9 comments:

What a glorious print! Love it! I really hope you can restore it. Rayon novelty prints are becoming so darn expensive. Those shoes! If you can't repair maybe you can make a nice blouse to it. This would be beautiful too!

Rayon novelty prints are so expensive on the internet. Nobody seems interested in them much here where I live though. I bought this dress for $25 (I figured $25 was a decent price) and they had another beautiful rayon novelty print dress that was a touch too big on me for $45.

This dress is too stellar, too beautiful, and too special not to me saved and I love that you're taking it upon yourself to do just that. It also looks like nothing shy of a million dollars on you, which is all the more reason to keep it alive and kicking, so to speak.

Wishing you all the best with your mending!

♥ Jessica

*PS* I read the line "I believe I can repair this dress" in the same voice as the spoken intro from the TV show The Six Million Dollar Man. :)

It fits you so well, I am sure you should be able to sew a new seam for the skirt and nobody will notice:) I loved the link for it's F***d but fabulous! I have had no luck repairing items I thought I could lately so I have been steering clear of damaged items myself although I feel a 40's purse at the thrift store may break that rule if nobody has loved it before I go back again...

I can totally related to this post! Like you I bought any and all vintage I could get my hands on that fit my budget, but now, as my repairs pile never completely disappears, I must be more careful about what I buy. But I also completely understand why you hand to bring this beauty home! The print and the cut is marvelous!!